So nearly finished Suikoden V, here are my thoughts

[sticky-runes]

well, it is an animated video game, so there's only so much detail they'll put into their structures.

[Punkaiser]

They are on a lake or swamp, though, aren't they? Would be a lot more tricky on a river, and you can see those planks are just casually laid across the boats.

It is called floating market. In some areas in Vietnam and Thailand, locals have their traditional floating markets on Mekong River (you can try some thing like "Mekong Delta floating market" on google or youtube)

[Piisuke]

Characters who annoyed me in this game:

Lun, constantly nagging her dad, when he is far more resourceful than her, and a lot more fun to hang out with. Logg got some of my favourite dialogue!
Killy, I got so excited when he showed up at the palace, but when you meet him in person he turns out to be a dick, with his crap weapon choice.
Sagiri and Shigure, they are just dull. Oboro had some nice lines, and even Fuyo was more interesting, but Sagiri and Shigure sucked.
And any of the beavers, except the one who built the bath house.

I liked Lun, she has some great assets!

[wataru14]

The only real problem I had with S5 was the inconsistency in the look of things within Falena. The royal family is some kinda of stylized Persian garb, while the nobility dressed like Europeans from the 18th-19th Centuries. Suikoden has always had a fusion of Eastern and Western influences, and it somehow works, but Arhstat next to Salum Barows? Even the Prince's more casual clothes are strange and then there's ... whatever Sialeeds wears. There is a time and place for purple spandex disco suits with a neckline that plunges to your belly button, and it is not next to someone in a pink Scarlet O'Hara dress and a Marie Antoinette hairdo.

I think everything would have made a lot more sense if the nobles's outfits were less 1776.

[Antimatzist]

In a lot of cultures, it was forbidden that other noble families except for the royal family are allowed to wear a certain fashion style.
I think it's strange to call something like this the "only real problem" of the game..

[wataru14]

I thought the character visuals were jarring and dissonant. I found the way the noble families looked to be anachronistic and out of place with the rest of the world. I understand completely about only royals being able to wear a certain style, but the Godwins and Barows (and Egbert, too) could have at least looked like they were from the same Age of human development. Lordlake's aesthetic made sense in the world. Raftfleet was exotic and its visuals felt like they belonged. The nobles of Leclar and Sable looked great. And I could believe all of them lived in the same society. Then all of a sudden some guys dressed like Thomas Jefferson show up. It seemed odd. Very odd.

And I stand by my statement that it was my only real problem with the game. I enjoyed the military battles, I liked the combat system, I thought the characters were well developed, and I thought the plot was awesome. I had some minor issues with pacing in the beginning and with Lucretia bordering on being psychic, but those were minor issues. I think its the best game in the series after 2.

[sticky-runes]

Sialeeds designed her own outfit (which is probably why it looks shite)

The fashions never really bothered me. I always felt that the more advanced looking cultures were the wealthier cultures. Maybe designing Barows and Godwins in that way was also to illustrate how greedy and power hungry there were. They adopted a more "civilized" style. At least we didn't get any of those modern day colonels, gym teachers or construction workers like in Suikoden 3.

[freshmetal]

Costumes from various cultures and time periods are nothing new in Suikoden. It's been happening in every game. As for Sialeeds and her costume, I could look at that one all day long.

[Neclord X]

I thought the character visuals were jarring and dissonant. I found the way the noble families looked to be anachronistic and out of place with the rest of the world. I understand completely about only royals being able to wear a certain style, but the Godwins and Barows (and Egbert, too) could have at least looked like they were from the same Age of human development. Lordlake's aesthetic made sense in the world. Raftfleet was exotic and its visuals felt like they belonged. The nobles of Leclar and Sable looked great. And I could believe all of them lived in the same society. Then all of a sudden some guys dressed like Thomas Jefferson show up. It seemed odd. Very odd.

And I stand by my statement that it was my only real problem with the game. I enjoyed the military battles, I liked the combat system, I thought the characters were well developed, and I thought the plot was awesome. I had some minor issues with pacing in the beginning and with Lucretia bordering on being psychic, but those were minor issues. I think its the best game in the series after 2.

That's pretty much the same from day 1. In Suikoden I you already had people in plate armor, ninjas, people in chinese outfit, and that happens too in S2, and even more in S3. S4 was someway more uniform when it comes to characters cultural influences. S5 just continues with the tendences of the first 3.

About looking from different ages...well, europe started industrial revolution first, but there isn't much difference before that

I mean, let's say the Godwins are inspired in XVIII century culture. If you had gone to china in XVIII what you would have seen is basically what you saw in Falena, big castles and medieval chinese outfits, since Japan and China basically lived in medieval times until a couple of centuries ago. But Europe despite what they want to belive were also in medieval times until a couple of centuries ago.

[Warcrown]

Like I said in another thread when I first played this I was just out of some surgery and pretty drugged. I basically missed the whole story and when i got to the final dungeon I was way low leveled and Rage Quit. Though technically my second time, this felt, for the most part, like my first.

These are my thoughts, roughly in order. I'll not ramble here, so to help control myself, prepare for LIST FORMAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ACT 1:

• Boobs- Sialeeds looks ridiculous.
  Prince- the Queendom of Falena don't raise no Georges.
  Princess- "Brother!!!!" Someone needed to tell the translators that referring to your kin by their title or relation to you does not sound even remotely natural in most Western languages
  Miakis- the slow pan up from her legs is supposed to make me think she is attractive, but I have no idea why.
  Incest moment #1- Marry your brother
  Incest moment #2- Sialeeds doesn't mind if the Prince peeks!
  Various other subtle incest-y moments.
  Sol Falena has, in my opinion, the most annoying music ever in a Suikoden game
  Dragon Horses are lame
  Dueling badly needs a complete overhaul
  I like these characters
  Belcoot is cool as hell
  Etcetc I'd like to start the game now...
  Please?...
  Please let me start playing...

ACT 2

• Euram is creepy. Kid says Euram offers him candy. Euram is most definitely supposed to be a child molester.
  Raftfleet's layout, while unique, is infuriating.
  Why am I so attracted to Luserina?
  NO NOT MORE SINDAR RUINS NO NO NO
  THESE ARE HORRIBLE MAKE IT STOP PLEASE NO NO
  Good I have a castle now. I love load screens every time I go to another room!
  Sweet early Viki + effortless blinking mirror. Thank you game designer
  This battle system sucks a lot! And each battle is less fun than the last!
  I really like this game. This castle is sweet. These characters are super detailed. This is a pretty big step up. I am really getting into this. I wish I didn't remember all the plot twists.
  Recruitment sloggggggg
  Shut up, Lym.
  Beavers, while better than cats, are still by far among the worst addition to the world's list of humanoidsishes

ACT 3

• Yes let's capture the Princess. Somehow the bad guys are stupid to see this really ridiculously obvious plan and counter-plan accordingly
  Oh, what a surprise, the character most attached to the main character is mortally wounded (Gremio, Nanami, probably someone in 3 and 4 I guess)
  Oh poor George. I wish I didn't remember this plot twist. But holy shoot I still teared up when Ferid smiled.
  The Godwins are not particularly bright, are they?

I'll leave it there. Despite the above snide comments, I'm enjoying the hell out of this game. Every detail is so wonderfully realized that it's hard to not get really wrapped up in Falena. The Prince's relatively frequent vocalization helps fix the issue of there being a leader that never ever speaks. The dawn Rune is pretty great. I'm really glad there's no magic charging time. While it added an extra layer of strategy and challenge to battles, it was extremely un-fun in my opinion.

I loved this game(despite the loading) and all the things you noted are things I never even really noticed as bad thing.

Act 1
Princess: I see your point but it actually sounded pretty natural to me for some reason.

You don't find Miakis attractive? Crazy...

Incest moment 1: I think this is Lym, who is a little girl. I don't think she really thought that part out.

Act 2
incest moment 2: THat might have been Sialeeds being...Well, Sialeeds.

Euram: Weird-ass creepy weirdo was my take on him as well.

Luserina: You found her attractive too? Good.

Sindar ruins: Totally agree.

Beavers: Are okay...

No Zerese is overpowered statement? That might be a first.

Act 3
No, the Godwins are quite stupid for the most part. You don't pick a fight with the royal family. Just look at Ferid. I wouldn't mess with someone like his. Especially if there was the slightest chance his children might be like that if pressed.

Sticky-Runes: I liked both Logg and Lun.

You don't like Shagiri or Sagiri??? "Ah man, what a pain." gets me laughing every time.

[sticky-runes]

Only time I liked Lun is when she talks about Subala being hit by the ugly stick, but Subala was one of the funniest chicks in the game anyway, but it was a nice change to have a tomboy rival relationship.

"what a pain" got on my tits every time Shigure said it.

No, the best frequent saying goes to Mathias, with his obsession for disposing of loathsome corpses in large bodies of water. Comes up with fresh versions every time!

[Warcrown]

No, the best frequent saying goes to Mathias, with his obsession for disposing of loathsome corpses in large bodies of water. Comes up with fresh versions every time!

Can't say I disagree with that. Were those 2 in any other games? Its been years since I played the 1st two since my PS1 broke but I thought I remembered them being in one of them, but maybe it was just the Maximillian Knights.

[sticky-runes]

No, Mathias and whats-her-name weren't in any other games, it was Max in 1 and 2, and his grandson in 3.

[Piisuke]

No, the best frequent saying goes to Mathias, with his obsession for disposing of loathsome corpses in large bodies of water. Comes up with fresh versions every time!

I see what you did there

[Pokerface]

The Godwins are many things, but none of them is stupid. Remember the perfect crime in Stormfist during the Sacred Games? Now THAT'S what I call a well written antagonist.

Gizel Godwin is by far the best antagonist in the whole Suikoden Series when it comes to plotting, scheming and "planting the seeds for the future" to quote Marscal Godwin.

As for the Headquarters. I can't say it's beautiful, but I can't say it's ugly either. I'd say it is above average - good, but nothing beats the HQ from S2 and S4. Sindar Ruins are part of the Suikoden History... they will ALWAYS BE THERE, no matter in which country you play.

The Beavers are VERY EFFECTIVE when it comes to major battles, because they can act on land and water. Their "gnaw" ability is awesome. On land they are a simple infantry unit. Same goes for the Dragon Cavalry. Efficient on land and water. On land they act as a cavalry unit, which can be used to our advantage.

I like the fact that they took over the skill system from Suikoden 3 and I am glad to have Zegai and Georg as combat instructors with me. This is how my party looks like (depending on the story status)

Front: Belcoot, Richard and Shigure
Back: Prince, Lyon, Zerase

When Lyon is injured then I put Miakis to good use. Depending on which formation you use, I recommend to max out Belcoot, Richard, and Shigure until you get Hazuki and Georg. Sagiri is also very very efficient when her skills are maxed out.

Now... as for Sialeeds. This is actually also a very well written charakter. You see, there isn't always black or white... but more and more shades of grey, which I really like.

The recruitment system is THE BEST of all Suikodens. You have to work for the 108 Stars of Destiny.